Variable pitch toy whistle



Jan. 6, 1970 N. H. ETHRIDGE 3,487,741

VARIABLE PITCH TOY WHISTLE Filed MM 28, 1968 l Q u 1i INVENTOR Nail H. E 7711? 06-5 United States Patent 3,487,741 VARIABLE PITCH TOY WHISTLE Noel H. Ethridge, 503 E. Lee Way, Bel Air, Md. 21014 Filed Mar. 28, 1968, Ser. No. 716,834 Int. Cl. G01d 7/00 US. Cl. 84-330 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy Whistle constructed by removing the needlesupporting end portion of a plastic hypodermic syringe and applying to it a whistle mouthpiece, thus converting a syringe, which may have served its purpose as a syringe, into a device having an entirely different function of interest to children, such device being a whistle having a resonant pipe or air column the length of which can be varied by changing the position of the syringe plunger.

Background of the invention Field of the invention.Childrens toys.

Summary of the invention A plastic disposable hypodermic syringe is sometimes given as a toy to children after giving them an injection, the needle being first removed and disposed of. As a toy, however, these syringes have only a limited play value. According to the present invention such a syringe is converted into a variable pitch whistle by first severing the end portion of the syringe body which supports the needle and then applying to the cut-off end of the syringe a whistle mouthpiece. In this way a satisfactory whistle is made which is appropriate for use as a toy, and the pitch of the Whistle note can be changed by shifting the syringe plunger. Advantageously the mouthpiece is provided with a projecting handle by which the whistle canbe held by the child in one hand while the other hand is used to operate the plunger.

Brief description of the views of the drawings FIG. l is a side view of a plastic disposable hypodermic syringe with the guard for the needle removed;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the whistle mouthpiece and syringe partly in plan and partly in horizontal section on line 2-2 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 3 is a view of the assembled whistle mouthpiece and syringe after removing the needle-supporting end portion.

Detailed description Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional plastic disposable hypodermic syringe is indicated by reference numeral 1. It has a hollow cylindrical body 2 within which a plunger 3 is manually movable. The inner end of the plunger is provided with a sealing head 4 providing a leak-proof fit with the cylinder wall. Plunger 3 may be of any desired construction but as shown it has radial lengthwise extending flanges 5 arranged at right angles to one another for maintaining the plunger in alignment with the cylinder.

At the opposite end of syringe 1 a conventional needle 6 is mounted in any convenient manner. As shown needle 6 is fixed to and projects from a tapered ferrule 7 which frictionally engages a nose member 8 projecting from the end of the syringe body 2. A disc (not shown) may also be arranged on the inner end of ferrule 7 and engage internal threads (also not shown) within a collar member 9 which is concentric with and spaced from the nose 8. conventionally also a plastic protecting cap (not shown) covers needle 6 and makes a forced fit with the surface of ferrule 7.

In using the syringe the protecting cap just referred to is removed, and the body 2 of the syringe filled with the material to be injected by moving plunger head 4 in the outward direction. Then the injection is made in the usual manner. Thereupon in accordance with the invention the needle-supporting end portion which is on the left of the dot and dash line 10 is removed by severing the body portion 2 of the syringe along the plane indicated by this line. This may be accomplished by means of a razor blade, knife, or other sharp instrument, or by means of an appropriate pair of scissors. The end portion referred to is then disposed of in a manner whereby the needle cannot accidentally cause physical in ury.

The Whistle mouthpiece to be applied to the open end of the body 2 is indicated generally at 11 in FIGS. 2 and 3. It is a hollow cylinder which is adapted to be held between the lips and which includes a suitable whistle element 12. This whistle element comprises a sharp edge 13 formed in the cylindrical surface of mouth piece 11 by making an appropriate cut or formation in the side of the mouthpiece. The sides of this formation are indicated at 14. They diverge as shown in FIG. 2 and also slope downwardly as shown in FIG. 3. The base or left end of this opening is a straight crosswise cut 15 and terminates at the front edge of a plug member 16 inserted in the open end of the mouthpiece. Plug 16 is slabbed along one side to provide the conventional whistle air passage 17.

Whistle mouthpiece 11 may be applied to the left end of the syringe body 2 as shown in FIG. 2 in any desired manner. Advantageously this may be done by telescoping one part with respect to the other. For this purpose as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 the right end portion 18 of mouthpiece 11 is enlarged somewhat and provided with a cylindrical bore 19 which will fit snugly over the exterior surface of syringe body 2. A shoulder 20 may be provided at the inner end of bore 19 to limit the extent of overlap of the telescoping parts.

In order for the whistle as a whole to be conveniently held by the child the whistle mouthpiece 11 is provided with a laterally and downwardly projecting arm 21 which serves as a handle. The child by grasping this handle in one hand can hold the mouthpiece 11 to his lips and blow through it, while he operates plunger 3 back and forth with his other hand. Should it not be desired to provide the handle 21 the whistle can be supported in blowing position by using the double flanges 22 as a supporting handle. These flanges are provided on the right end of syringe body 2 to assist in manipulating the syringe during an injection.

The whistle mouthpiece 11 may be made of various materials, but it is advantageous to make it of the same type of plastic material as the syringe 1. Although mouthpiece 11 has been shown as a simple cylindrical formation it may be made in any shape desired. Should the handle 21 be omitted it is desirable to provide the mouthpiece 3 4 with a collar, possibly a flanged collar, or a lateral pro- References Cited jection of some kind sufiieient to decrease the possibility UNITED STATES PATENTS of an attempt by the chlld to swallow the mouthpiece.

I claim: 780,674 1/1905 Leech 84-330 1,653,221 12/1927 May 84-330 1. The new use, for providing a childs toy, of a dis- 5 carded hypodermic plastic syringe which includes removing the needle-supporting end portion of the syringe body and applying thereto a whistle mouthpiece, the resulting whistle tone being variable by shifting the position of the RICHARD WILKINSON Pnmary Exammer syringe plunger. 10 JOHN F. GONZALES, Assistant Examiner 2,204,701 6/ 1940 Robinson 843 30 2,246,266 6/ 1941 Robinson. 

